ABOUT 1 800 PEOPLE RETURNED TO CROATIA SINCE JULY - OSCE

( Editorial: --> 9264 ) ZAGREB, Sept 9 (Hina) - In the past month and a half, 1,786 persons have returned to Croatia in line with the Government programme for the return of displaced people and refugees, a UNHCR spokesman told reporters in Zagreb on Wednesday. Since the organised arrival of the first returnee convoy on July 23, 505 people have returned to Croatia with the assistance of the Government Office for Displaced Persons and Refugees or the UNHCR, UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic told a press conference held by the UNHCR, Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and UN Civil Police Support Group. Mahecic added that 649 people returned spontaneously, without government assistance, while 632 people returned on the basis of travel documents issued by the Croatian authorities. A group of 66 people returned to Croatia from Yugoslavia and further to the wider area of Knin, Mahecic said. Another large group of returnees is expected on Thursday, he added. Following a meeting with the Article 11 Commission, UNHCR Mission head Robert Robinson said that assistance in reintegrating the returnees was the main factor of sustainable return, Mahecic said. The UNHCR has called on the European Union to immediately send some of the aid intended for Bosnia to the returnees in Croatia who are in the most difficult situation, Mahecic said. OSCE Mission head Tim Guldimann today held talks with NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana in Brussels and he would inform NATO Council members about the OSCE's information and standpoints on the situation in Croatia, said OSCE spokesman Mark Thompson. The OSCE Mission has prepared a new report on the progress made by the Croatian Government in fulfilling international obligations in the period between May and September, he added. The report is just being delivered within the usual procedure to the Vienna-based OSCE headquarters, OSCE member-countries and the Croatian Government. UN Civil Police Support Group spokeswoman Kirsten Haupt described the situation in the Danube region as relatively stable. (hina) jn rml /mbr 091834 MET sep 98